Furlough, Shaw Post No. 71, Grand Army of the Republic

Hd. Qrs. Post Shaw No. 71Department Of New YorkGrand Army Of The Republic

Stapleton, N.Y., April 26th, 1869

To all unto whom these Presents may come, Greeting:

Know ye, That the bearer hereof A.N. Duffie, formerly a Brig. Genl. of the United States Vols. and now a comrade in good standing of this Post, permission to travel anywhere within the lines of the Army, according to his will and pleasure, and I do earnestly and cordially recommend him to the favorable notice and consideration of all good and faithful comrades among us.

D. Archie PellCommanding Post

Official:G. [?] McCreadyAdjutant

Light age toning and wear. Very fine.

This document came out of the personal papers of General Alfred N.A. Duffie.

General Alfred N.A. Duffie: (1835-80) Born in Paris, he was the son of a French count. He graduated from the military college of St. Cyr in 1854 and won four decorations in the Crimea. Wounded in the battle of Solferino against the Austrians, he took leave of absence to come to the U.S. in 1859, where he met and married the daughter of a prominent Staten Island family. When the Civil War broke out he resigned his commission in the French army and offered his services to the U.S. On Aug. 2, 1861, he was commissioned captain of the 2nd N.Y. Cavalry and was promoted to major in October. In July 1862, he was appointed colonel of the 1st Rhode Island Cavalry which he led in the 2nd Bull Run campaign. In March 1863 his distinguished services at the battle of Kelly's Ford got the attention of General Joe Hooker who requested his promotion to brigadier general which was granted. He commanded a division of the Cavalry Corps under General Alfred Pleasanton during the Chancellorsville campaign and the early phases of the Gettysburg campaign. After this he was ordered to the Department of West Virginia and his subsequent service was in that department under Generals' Benjamin F. Kelley, Franz Sigel, David Hunter and George Crook. In October 1864, he was captured by Confederate partisans near Bunker Hill, Va., and was not paroled until the end of February 1865.

Duncan Archibald Pell, who signed this document as Post Commander, enlisted on April 17, 1861, as a private, and was mustered into the 1st Rhode Island Infantry. He was mustered out of this regiment on August 2, 1861, and promoted to Captain, & Assistant Adjutant General, in the U.S. Adjutant Generals Department. He was promoted to brevet major, on August 1, 1864, for gallantry in the battle of the Wilderness. He was promoted to brevet colonel on March 25, 1865, for gallantry in the battle of Fort Stedman, Va. He resigned on May 19, 1865.